Nib and writing instrument construction with capillary action

ABSTRACT

A NIB AND WRITING INSTRUMENT CONSTRUCTION HAVING A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED ELEMENT WITHIN A TUBULAR CASING EACH HAVING PERIPHERAL, LONGITUDINAL GROOVES OR CORRUGATIONS DEFINING JOINTLY AND WITH THE CASING LONGITUDINAL CAPILLARY PASSAGEWAYS FOR WRITING FLUID FLOW THERETHROUGH FROM A WRITING FLUID RESERVOIR. THE ELEMENTS CAN BE MADE OF RESIN AND THE CASING ALSO OF A SUITABLE PLASTIC AND SHARPENED TO A WRITING POINT. THE ELONGATED ELEMENTS ARE HELD FRICTIONALLY IN THE CASING IN AN ASSEMBLED CONDITION AND CAN THEMSELVES BE PROVIDED WITH A CENTRAL CAPILLARY PASSAGEWAY HAVING A DESIRED CROSS SECTION AND THIS PASSAGEWAY MAY BE FILLED WITH FIBERS.

Feb.. 27, 1973 3,718,401

NIB AND WRITING INSTRUMENT CONSTRUCTION WITH CAPILLARY ACTION YOSHIHITO KIRIU 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Feb. 26, 1969 1973 YOSHIHITO KIRIU 3,718,01

NIB AND WRITING INSTRUMENT CONSTRUCTION WITH CAPILLARY ACTION Original Filed Feb. 26, 1969 2 Shmets-Sheet 2 United States Patent US. Cl. 401--199 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A 'nib and writing instrument construction having a plurality of elongated elements within a tubular casing each having peripheral, longitudinal grooves or corrugations defining jointly and with the casing longitudinal capillary passageways for writing fluid flow therethrough from a writing fluid reservoir. The elements can be made of resin and the casing also of a suitable plastic and sharpened to a writing point. The elongated elements are held frictionally in the casing in an assembled condition and can themselves be provided with a central capillary passageway having a desired cross section and this passageway may be filled with fibers.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 802,398, filed Feb. 26, 1969, now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to writing instruments and more particularly to nib and writing instrument constructions. 1

Nibs and Writing instruments are known in which the nib is provided with a central bore which may be made small and have different cross section configurations. Generally the nib in these writing instruments is constructed as a single element. Furthermore, writing instruments are known in which capillarity is eifected by the construction of the instrument.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a new and novel nib and writing instrument construction.

According to the invention a plurality of elongated rod-like members having peripheral longitudinally extending grooves or corrugations are held in an assembled condition within a tubular casing extending longitudinally thereof defining a plurality of capillary passageways through the tubular casing jointly and in conjunction with the casing.

The elongated elements are made of a suitable plastic, for example a resin, and the casing is likewise plastic. The elongated elements are made with a generally circular, triangular or fan-shaped cross section with surfaces on the periphery thereof which coact with each other to define the capillary passageways. The outer casing is made with a smooth interior surface or likewise with longitudinally extending grooves or corrugations in the inner surfaces thereof which jointly with the elongated elements define capillary passageways.

Each or several of the assembled elements may be provided with a central bore or capillary passageway which is circular in cross-section or have a specific configuration such as a cross or a star-shaped. These bores may likewise be made of sufiicient dimension so that they can be filled with fibers for carrying out capillarity action. The casing and elongated members held therein are sharpened at one end so that the assembly functions as a nib or writing instrument supplied with writing fluid from a writing fluid source.

3,718,401 Patented Feb. 27, 1973 Other features and advantages of the nib and writing instrument construction in accordance with the invention will be better understood as described in'the specification and appended claims in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1, is a side elevation view of an instrument or device partly in section according to the invention;

FIG. 2, is a cross section view taken along section line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2a is a fragmentary perspective view of an element within the assembly in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 3 and 4, are cross section views of other writing instruments similar to that in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, l0 and 11 are cross section views of other embodiments of writing devices according to the invention;

FIGS. 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a, 10a, and 11a are fragmentary perspective views illustrating the construction of the elements within the devices corresponding to FIGS. 8-11 respectively; and

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary side view partly in section illustrating a writing device embodying the invention.

According to the drawings illustrating the invention a tubular casing 1 made of a suitable rigid plastic holds within it a plurality of elongated elements 2 which are triangular-shaped or fan-shaped in cross section and are held frictionally within the casing 1 in an assembled relationship extending axially of the casing 1. The elements 2 are constructed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 2a and are provided with a fiat side 2b and corrugated sides 20, 2d bearing on a corresponding smooth surface of a related element 2 or the inner periphery of the casing as illustrated and jointly defining therewith passageways which are small in cross section and are eifective to carry out capillarity action.

In order to use the assembled construction as a writing device an end thereof is sharpened as illustrated in FIG. 1 so that the entire assembly can function as a nib in a writing instrument as hereinafter described with respect to FIG. 12. Furthermore, the assembled construction can be made sufiiciently large in cross section so that the casing and elongated members therein can function as a writing instrument having at an end opposite the sharpened end a Writing fluid source, not shown.

The elongated members can be made as illustrated in the other cross section drawings described hereinafter at length, for example in FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3 a plurality of elongated elements 4 are held in a casing 5 and are constructed similarly to those in FIG. 2, except that the ridges of the grooves come to a sharp point.

In FIG. 4 a plurality of elongated elements 6 had one side 6b flat and the other two sides 60, 6d scalloped as illustrated in FIG. 4 jointly defininng capillary passageways radiating from the axis thereof and define peripheral capillary passageways 8 jointly with smooth interior surfaces of a tubular casing 9 made of a suitable plastic or other suitable material.

In FIGS. 5 and 5a a casing 10 encloses a plurality of elongated elements 11 held in assembled relationship. Each of the elements 11 has a generally triangular cross section and a base side 11b corrugated or with longitudinal grooves thereon and a side 11c substantially flat with the opposite side 11d scalloped so that in an assembled relationship capillarity passageways are defined longitudinally of the assembly and peripherally of the elements between the base sides of the triangles and the interior surfaces of the casing 10.

In FIGS. 6 and 6a three similar elongated elements 13 are disposed within a tubular casing 14. Each of the elements 13 has a generally fan shaped cross section and is made of two elongated substantially triangular portions 13a, 13b having peripheral outer sides 13c, 13d, 13 with longitudinal grooves thereon and a slit extending partially toward the apex of the triangular portions and extending longitudinally of the elements having one side 16a fiat and another side 16b grooved as illustrated defining capillarity passageways radiating outwardly from the axis of the assembly illustrated in FIG. 6 and extending longitudinally through the casing.

The elongated elements may likewise be constructed as tubular elements or rods extending longitudinally of a respective tubular casing as illustrated in FIGS. 7-10a inclusive. The elongated elements in these illustrations of the invention are substantially circular in cross section with the exception of those in FIG. 9 and are provided with peripheral longitudinal grooves extending longitudinally thereof which cooperate with other grooves in the inner wall surfaces of the respective casings which are likewise tubular as heretofore described.

Elongated elements 17 are constructed as illustrated in FIG. 7 and held frictionally within a tubular casing 18. These elements may be provided with an axial bore 19 which can be made very small so that it functions as a capillary passageway or made of a dimension to allow filling with suitable fibers 20 as illustrated in FIGS. and 10a. Likewise the central bore may be constructed as a cross 23 as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The elongated elements may likewise be constructed with their own particular cross section, for example a cross shape, as illustrated in FIG. 9 in which the elements 25 are held within a plastic tubular casing 26 which has interior longitudinally extending grooves as illustrated and the cross shaped elements 25 jointly define therebetween and jointly with the casing longitudinal passageways each functioning as a capillary passageway.

The elongated elements may likewise be assembled in a dove-tail-like construction as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 11a in which an element 28 dove-tails with an elongated element 29. Projections 28a, 29a on both of the two elements extend into corresponding deep grooves on the other elements as illustrated in the drawing. These grooves are defined by flat sides and corrugated sides on the projections so that longitudinally extending capillarity passageways are defined therebetween and the outer surfaces 28b, 29b are corrugated or grooved longitudinally of these elements so that peripherally angularly spaced passageways are formed circumferentially of the assembled or elongated members and in conjunction with and within a tubular casing 30.

The invention is particularly applicable to constructing writing instruments with the elements assembled as above-described and is particularly applicable to the construction of part of a writing instruments, for example a nib. A writing instrument provided with a nib according to the invention is illustrated in FIG. 12 in which a writing or marking device 35 is illustrated fragmentarily and comprises a tubular body 37 made of plastic material within which is contained a writing fluid source 38, for example an absorbent pad of fibers made in known manner. A nib 40 is held in a nib holder 42 and extends outwardly of the writing instrument body 37 and into the fluid or writing fluid supply 39.

The nib 40 is constructed in the manner heretofore described and consists of a plurality of elements held assembled in a tubular casing 40a. An end 40b is sharpened for Writing and an opposite end 400 is likewise tapered to expose the inner elongated elements to the supply of fluid for capillary movement of the fluid along the nib. The nib is constructed according to one of the constructions described and illustrated in the preceeding drawings.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described it will be understood that many modifications and changes can be made within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A writing instrument nib, comprising an elongated tubular casing, a plurality of elongated, rigid writing members located within said casing, each of said members being generally fan-shaped and uniform in cross section longitudinally and having sidewalls terminating inwardly in an apex located in the vicinity of the center of said casing and outwardly in a curved wall generally complementary in configuration with respect to said casing and adjacent thereto, each of said members further including at least one longitudinally extending slit extending from said curved wall and having a depth approaching the radial dimension of said member dividing said member into integrally connected portions, the surfaces of said curved wall, at least one of said sidewalls and the walls defining said slit of each of said members being provided with a plurality of longitudinal grooves, the depth of each individual groove being uniform, said members being joined within said casing at their apexes while said sidewalls of said members are positioned adjacent each other, the space between said casing and said outer curved walls of said members, the space between adjacent sidewalls of said members and said slits of said members defining capillary passage extending longitudinally through said casing, portions of said members extending outwardly of said casing at one end thereof being sharpened as a point.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,424,539 1/1969 Jenkins 401-292 FOREIGN PATENTS 413,764 7/1934 Great Britain 401-260 ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 401265 

